1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coin processing device used in vending machines, money exchangers, service devices, etc., and adapted to sort and accommodate inserted coins by denomination, and dispense as change coins so sorted and accommodated.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vending machines, money exchangers, service devices, etc., are equipped with coin processing devices for sorting and accommodating inserted coins by denomination, and dispensing these coins as change.
Such coin processing devices generally comprise the following four portions.
(1) A device main body constituting the housing of the coin processing device.
(2) A coin sorting portion, located in the uppermost portion of the device main body, for determining whether inserted coins are genuine, and sorting genuine coins by denomination.
(3) A coin accommodating portion, located within the device main body below the coin sorting portion, that comprises a plurality of tubes for accommodating by denomination genuine coins that have been sorted by the coin sorting portion.
(4) A coin dispensing portion, located within the device main body below the coin accommodating portion, for dispensing as change coins accommodated in the coin accommodating portion.
Vending machines equipped with coin processing devices of this kind are designed such that when a product purchaser, having deposited coins with the intent of purchasing a product, subsequently decides for some reason to terminate product purchase, and desires the coins to be returned, may operate a coin return lever provided to the vending machine.
At this point, the coin processing device returns coins of the same amount of money as that of the inserted coins through a coin return slot, so that the product purchaser desiring return of the inserted coins may recover the returned coins from the coin return slot.
In the typical coin processing device described above, a coin return process is activated by operation of the coin return lever, which causes the coin dispensing portion to dispense coins of the same amount as the inserted coins from the coin accommodating portion to the coin return slot.
Thus, in a typical coin processing device, during a coin return process the actual coins inserted by the product purchaser are not returned to the coin return slot, but rather coins having the corresponding amount to the inserted coins are dispensed from the coins already accommodated in the coin accommodating portion.
In this way, when inserted coins are returned by a conventional coin processing device, the actual inserted coins are not returned, but rather coins of the same amount as the inserted coins are dispensed from coins already accommodated in the coin accommodating portion. Accordingly, supposing that a counterfeit coin good enough to pass as genuine in the coin sorting portion were to be inserted into the coin processing device, and the coin return lever were then operated without a product purchase: despite the fact that the inserted coin is counterfeit, a genuine coin having the corresponding amount to the inserted coin is dispensed to the coin return slot, resulting in a so-called xe2x80x9ccoin switching.xe2x80x9d
In order to foil coin switching, there has been disclosed in the past, e.g., in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) 11-288480, providing a coin detaining lever situated at the downstream end of a coin sorting passage having a plurality of denomination separation levers for separating by denomination coins considered to be genuine, i.e., at the downstream end of the coin sorting passage in which coins are ultimately separated and guided by denomination. An inserted coin is temporary detained by this coin detaining lever, and in the event that the coin return lever is operated without a product purchase, the inserted coin temporary detained by the coin detaining lever is released so that the inserted coin is dispensed from the coin return slot.
Coin processing devices of this type, wherein in the event that the coin return lever is operated without a product purchase, an inserted coin temporary detained by a coin detaining lever is released so that the actual inserted coin is dispensed from the coin return slot, are known as actual coin return type coin processing devices.
According to the actual coin return type coin processing device disclosed in Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) 11-288480, when a coin is returned through operation of the coin return lever, the actual inserted coin is dispensed. Thus, in the event that a counterfeit coin good enough to pass as genuine in the coin sorting portion were to be inserted, since the inserted (counterfeit) coin itself is returned to the coin return slot, coin switching is effectively thwarted.
Where a vending machine employing a coin processing device of the conventional type described above (Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) 11-288480) is used to vend an expensive product the purchase of which requires a plurality of coins, a coin passage provided with a coin detaining lever is used to temporarily hold the plurality of inserted coins.
In the event that the coin return lever is operated without a product purchase in the manner described earlier, the inserted coins temporarily detained by the coin detaining lever are released, and the plurality of inserted coins temporarily detained in the coin passage provided with the coin detaining lever are dispensed to the coin return slot.
In response to the increasing diversity of vended products, vending machines must now be able to vend expensive products the purchase of which requires a large number of coins.
Where the conventional actual coin return type coin processing device described above (Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) 11-288480) is used in such a case, namely, in a vending machine for vending expensive products the purchase of which requires a large number of coins, since the design of the coin processing device is such that a plurality of inserted coins are temporarily detained in a coin passage provided with a coin detaining lever, the number of coins that can be temporarily detained is limited by the length per se of the coin passage wherein the coin detaining lever is arranged. Accordingly, it is difficult to adapt the conventional actual coin return type coin processing device to temporarily hold a greater number of inserted coins, and thus to vend more expensive products.
With the foregoing in view, it is an object of the invention to provide a coin processing device capable of temporarily holding a greater number of inserted coins and, in the event that the coin return lever is operated without a product purchase, of dispensing this plurality of inserted coins to the coin return slot.
In the present invention, the aforementioned problem is solved by a coin processing device comprising a coin sorting passage in which are arranged a plurality of denomination separating portions for separating inserted coins identified as genuine into different coin passages based on their denomination, and a coin detaining portion for temporarily detaining the inserted coins passing through the coin sorting passages, wherein the coin detaining portion is situated adjacent to one of the plurality of denomination separating portions arranged in the coin sorting passages, the one of the denomination separating portions being situated at farthest upstream location than any other denomination separating portions.